


(i just) died in your arms

by bevward



Category: IT (2017), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Pennywise (IT), Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Birthday, Character Death, Death, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier-centric, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Heavy Angst, M/M, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Nonbinary Character, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, POV Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Being an Asshole, Richie Tozier Flirts, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bevward/pseuds/bevward
Summary: as richie tozier's 16th birthday is approaching, one fact can't be denied, no matter how often he forgets about it:as soon as the clock strikes midnight, he'll know when his best friends are going to die.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 12
Kudos: 30





	1. one

“What are we supposed to get?” Stanley Uris asked, as they walked the aisles of Derry General with Beverly Marsh and Eddie Kaspbrak.

“Something that screams,” Beverly paused, then putting emphasis on her next words- “Richie!”

“So, basically, anything hideous. Got it.” Eddie added, not moving his gaze from the shelves.

Beverly chuckled quickly. “Exactly.”

“When are we having his party, anyway?” Stan asked, curious about the little details and logistics of the plan.

“His birthday is on Saturday, Stan. We’ll just set up after school on Friday and have the party right before midnight. Bill or Ben can keep Richie occupied until we’re ready.” Beverly answered, putting rainbow-stripe party hats into the basket Eddie was holding.

Stan nodded, and kept walking. They thought Beverly seemed to have it all down. 

“How about these?” Eddie asked, picking up rainbow-stripe candles to match the hats. 

“Those are pretty ugly.” Stan commented.

“That would be a yes, then.” Eddie threw the candles in the basket.

"Hey, guys?" Stanley asked, as the other two turned to look at them.

"Yeah?" Beverly spoke up.

"Do you think Richie's nervous about the Death Clock?" 

Eddie and Beverly both went silent. They hadn't even thought about it yet. However, the Death Clock was something they all had to deal with eventually. As soon as the clock struck midnight on their birthday, they would know when anyone close to them was going to die. Beverly was already sixteen, so she knew when the losers were going to die. She didn't seem worried about it, but she couldn't tell anyone about it either way. She could only give vague descriptions like "far from now" "in the far future". It was against the rules to tell when anyone was dying- she'd die herself if she did.

"Way to kill the mood." Beverly joked.

"Well, I see where Stan's coming from. I don't know how I'll handle it when my time comes. What if one of us is dying really soon? What if our parents are dying soon?" Eddie added, relating to Stan's fears and worries.

"Nobody is. That's all I can tell you." Beverly tried to ease their worries.

Eddie sighed in relief, which was followed by Stan nodding. Eddie knows that everyone dies, but that didn't stop him from worrying that one of them was going to have an untimely death. He tried not to think about it any longer. It was going to be Richie's birthday soon. Eddie loved Richie's birthdays- he loved giving the other boy gifts and seeing his reaction.

Eddie glanced at the basket on his right arm, and noticed it was nearly full with party supplies. "Anyway, do you think we have enough supplies now?" 

"Yeah. We've got a lot already, and we still need to pick up the cake I ordered." Stan replied, as Beverly nodded, leading the other two to the cash register.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mike and bill distract richie at the arcade.

Richie ran through the halls of Derry High as the bell rang, looking for his friends. His vision suddenly splashed with red when the familiar boy in short shorts came into his view. 

“Hey Eds, over here!” Richie yells, as Eddie turns back to look at him, he plastered on the look of annoyance at the use of the name he only claims to hate. 

“Hey, Rich, I can’t talk for long. My mom is picking me up. I’ll see you later!” Eddie said quickly, feeling slightly guilty for lying to Richie. It was for a good reason, though, Eddie reassures himself as he begins rushing out of the school to meet Beverly, Stanley, and Ben— the perfect team to decorate Bill’s. Stanley and himself to make sure everything is neat and nicely arranged, Ben to keep the peace and make sure everything is in order, and Beverly to bring some of the spunk Richie likes.

Richie thought it was odd how eager Eddie seemed to see his Mom, but he tried not to give it much thought. He had plans to hang out with Bill and Mike at the arcade. The others usually wouldn’t tag along, since they saw no point in Street Fighter, unlike how Richie did— but today was Richie’s birthday. They had to.

The boy with coke-bottle glasses continued to walk towards the exit of the school. He spotted Bill by the bike rack, taking Silver out of the spot she had been in. Richie smiled to himself at the sight of his best friend. Richie had Bill’s back, and Bill had his. They never said anything about it, but they just knew they had each other— always.

“Big Bill! A pleasure, truly.” Richie says, in his horrible British Voice.

“Hey, Rich. Get your buh-buh-bike and let’s get guh-going. Mike’s already there and I don’t wanna keep him wuh-waiting.” Bill replies, walking Silver along to the road, Richie following closely behind after retrieving his own bike. 

“Forgetting something?” Richie chirped, as the boys hopped onto their bikes. 

“Happy Birthday, Richie.” Bill remarked listlessly, already having said ‘happy birthday’ more than several times that day. Richie chuckled in victory.

Bill, being on the large bike that is Silver, was quite ahead of the very out-of-breath Richie all too soon.

“Slow down!” 

“Hi-ho, Silver! Away!”

“Your old lady bike’s too fast for me!”

Richie tried to catch up with Bill, to no avail. He had always tried to be faster than Bill whenever they rode together. Before Richie knew it, they were already at the arcade, Mike’s contagious smile greeting the both of them. Bill stuck Silver in the bike rack, then giving Mike a hug. Mike and Bill were really close. Richie thought they looked good together. He smiled.

“Hey, Richie! Happy birthday! Glad to spend it with you.” Mike said, giving Richie a hug. Mike had a sort of warmth that he carried around with him. You felt it as soon as he walked in the room— he was the kind of guy that made you feel safe, and like everything would turn out okay no matter how bad it was. 

“Even if wuh-we are just watching you puh-play Street Fighter for like an hour.” Bill added, as soon as Mike pulled away from the hug. 

“Why the tone of disappointment? I’ll have you know that I’m the Street Fighter champion of Derry, Maine!” Richie beamed, showing an over-exaggerated proud look.

“To be fair, the only other people that play are actual children.” Mike chuckled.

“And I’m better than them!” Richie replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updating a few times a week  
> idk follow me on twt @simpkaspbrak


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> richie blows out his candles

“Happy Birthday, Richie!” 

Richie beamed at the sight of his best friends and the hideous party decorations. He glanced at the rainbow-stripe party hats on the table, then looking toward ‘happy birthday’ banners with ugly knock-off emojis.

“Oh my god! I totally wasn’t expecting this!” Richie said, sarcastically, as Beverly rolled her eyes.

“He’s not wrong, we do this every year.” Stan commented, laughing a bit, taking a party hat from the table and putting it on.

“These hats are disgusting.” Mike added, picking one up and putting it on. The rest of the losers followed behind him, taking hats and throwing them on. Eddie, however, picked up two.

“Happy birthday, trashmouth.” Eddie chirped, walking up to Richie and putting the extra party hat he picked up onto Richie’s head.

“Thanks, Eds,” Richie felt his cheeks get a little hot at Eddie’s action. It felt oddly intimate. “Although, it’s not technically my birthday until midnight.”

Beverly, who was watching from the corner, giggled at the exchange. Eddie rolled his eyes at Richie’s over-specifications.

“It’s uh-almost time. We should get ready.” Bill announced, making his way towards the freezer to get the ice-cream cake Stan ordered. 

Richie, who hadn’t noticed time flew by so fast, was surprised. After the arcade, the three went to go see Richie’s parents. His parents were the best— they were loving and caring, and they tried their best to understand Richie. Usually, they would have preferred to hold Richie’s party, but they also knew he would love to spend it with his friends. They could always do something as a family another time.

Bill retrieved the Oreo ice-cream cake and put it on the table where the hats used to be. He picked up several emoji paper plates and handed them out. Eddie looked his over, making sure it was clean. This was a practice the losers were all too familiar with.

“Stan the man! You sure went all out for the cake.” Richie commented, upon seeing the sugar-filled dessert. 

“Yeah. Probably a lot of sugar.” Eddie shot back, placing his plate onto the table in front of a chair.

“Live a little, Eds.” Richie replied.

Eddie rolled his eyes and pulled the chair back, sitting in it, while the rest of the losers stood up. Ben took the candles out of their packaging, placing sixteen of them on the cake. 

“Got a lighter, Bev?” Ben asked, glancing at his watch.

Beverly nodded, taking one out of the pockets of her overalls, handing it to him. Ben encouraged the flame, then putting it upon the ill-flavored candles that Richie found perfect. Richie stood in front of the cake with the losers, besides Eddie, behind him.

As the clock struck midnight, Richie closed his eyes. He wasn’t even thinking about the death numbers— he hadn’t all day. All he could think about in that moment were his best friends. The people who loved him. The people he loved.

“Happy birthday, Richie!” They all shouted, as Richie opened his eyes.

Richie blew out his candles, and turned to Bill. Bill looked oddly nervous. Richie noticed that Bill’s death number said 83 years. Richie smiled. His best friend would live a long plentiful life. Bill’s eyes shifted nervously to Eddie. Richie’s eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at the smaller boy whom he adored.

Richie felt his heart drop, as he saw 60 days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short sry i like to make them short lol
> 
> anyway follow me on twt @simpkaspbrak


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bill and richie have a quarrel

“What the fuck! How could you just not tell me?” Richie whisper-yelled at Bill, as soon as they had a moment alone in Bill’s dimly-lit backyard.

“I didn’t want to wuh-worry you, Richie. You have to understand that. Besides, I couldn’t talk about it with yuh-you until you were sixteen too.” Bill replied, in a calm tone, sitting down in a chair.

“How could you possibly be calm about this? Eddie is going to die! And you don’t care at all!”

Bill knew Richie wasn’t in the right headspace— how could he be? He just found out his best friend is dying sooner than later. Neither of them were acting how they usually would. Yet, it didn’t stop Bill from getting upset.

“Of course I care! How do you think I feel? I’ve known Eddie longer than any of you. I’ve had to watch that number slowly go down day by day for months now, Richie. Can you think about anybody but yourself for longer than five seconds?”

Richie froze. Bill was right; he wasn’t thinking about anyone else. All he could think about was how he felt.

“I don’t know what the fuck to do, Bill. I haven’t given the numbers a single thought in days,” Richie sat down next to Bill. “and now Eddie’s gonna die. There’s nothing I can do about it.” Richie felt tears well up in his eyes.

“I know, Rich.” Bill pat his back. “I know.”

“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you,” Richie hated apologizing, it was always awkward when he did; he wasn’t exactly good at being serious. “I’m just. Fuck, Bill. I’m scared.” Richie felt comforted by Bill's presence, regardless of how bad everything was. He was someone Richie looked up to, even if he would never admit it.

Upon hearing the backyard door slide open, both boys turned around to be faced with Beverly Marsh, holding an unlit cigarette.

“He knows?” Beverly asked, lighting it.

Bill nodded, suddenly feeling guilty. He knew he couldn’t tell Richie, and neither of them could do anything to stop the death numbers. He also knew how Richie felt about Eddie. How could he not? It’s almost as if everyone but Richie could see how he felt.

“I’m sorry, Rich. We wanted to tell you, but we’d die if we did.” 

“I know. It’s just all happening so soon.”

“It’s not like he’s dying tomorrow. You still have sixty days.” Beverly said, trying her best to stay calm. She knew what Richie needed right now; as much as the news she'd known for a while hurt her, she didn’t want him to get more worked up.

“Bev is ruh-right. It doesn’t seem like a lot of time but you need to work with what yuh-you have.” Bill added, getting up to stand next to her.

“Yeah. Okay. You’re right.” Richie stood up, passing Beverly and Bill, making his way to the sliding glass door. He took a minute to gain his composure. He started to look on the bright side of things; he still has time. He wasn’t going to think about it until he had to. He knew he needed to spend as much time with Eddie as he could. What mattered was that Eddie was here now.

“Here, Rich.” Eddie said, upon Richie’s entrance, handing him a paper plate with a fairly large slice of cake.

“You’re encouraging this? I thought it was full of sugar.” Richie replied, sassily, taking the plate.

“Well, it’s your birthday. You deserve cake on your birthday.” Eddie said, smiling softly. 

Richie smiled back, staring into Eddie’s eyes a little too long.

“Everything okay?” Eddie asked, not breaking eye contact, eyebrows furrowing. “Your eyes look a little red.”

“Never better, Eddie my boy!” Richie said, in his British Voice, ignoring the second part of Eddie’s sentence.

“God, I hate that voice. It doesn’t even sound British!” 

“What might you be talking about, old chap? You could tell I was doing the British guy!”

Eddie sighed, taking a seat next to Ben on Bill’s tan couch. Richie’s smile faded, as it sunk in that they wouldn’t have banter like that anymore. He quickly tried to push the thought out of his mind as he tasted the cake. It was good. Stan always knew what Richie would like.

“Real good cake, Stan,” Richie complimented. “and I don’t just mean the oreo one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also kinda short lolz


End file.
